Fuel economizer for automotive engines



Feb. 4, 1941. c, SEYMOUR 2,230,311

FUEL ECONOMIZER FOR AUTOMOTIVE ENGINES Filed Jan. 19, 1938 INVENTOR.

Patented Feb. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT mm 7 rpm. ucouonn zii si nAUTOMOTIVE I U v Clayton B. Seymour, Chicago, Ill, assigner to HoofProducts Company, a corporation of Illinois 13 Claims.

My invention relates more particularly teen automatic device normallyassociated with the carburetor of an internal combustion engine tooperate the power jet and/or the accelerating pump of the carburetor ofthe engine.

Today most carburetors are provided with some form of power jet whichenriches the mixture as the speed or load increases. This jet is usuallycontrolled from the carburetor throttle spindle,

the mixture being enriched in proportion as the throttle is opened.

When a governor is installed on an engine and the engine speed iscontrolled by the governor. valve, the carburetor throttle is ordinarilyheld in a wide open position. Where there is a power jet, this positioncorresponds to a maximum enrichment of the explosive mixture supplied tothe engine. When the governor valve need only be opened slightly to givetheproper speed and carry the load the mixture furnished by thecarburetor is that corresponding to high speed, as the carburetor valveis wide open and thus the power jet permits an enriched mixture to befurnished to the engine-regardless of. the speed or load carried. Undersuch conditions it is obvious that the mileage per gallon decreases anda great loss in mileage per gallon results as well as damage to, thepistons and cylinder walls of the engine, due to the furnishing of animproper mixture to the same.

Therefore in engines which are supplied with a governor, in addition tothe carburetor, it is necessary to provide some means of compensatingfor the operation of the power jet in relation to the position of thegovernor valve, instead of the carburetor valve. This has been done insome instances by providing means associated with the governor forcontrolling the operation of thepower jet. One form of carburetor now onthe. market has an accelerating pump and power jet actuated by a rockerarm operated by a link connection to a crank (in the carburetor valvespindle. There are devices on the market today which disconnect thislink from the crank onthecarburetor spindle and connect the same Icordance with the vacuum condition in the intake manifold beyond boththe carburetor valve and the governor valve.

My invention is an improvement over any and all of thejdevices of thistype at present on the market. I c

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a; fueleconomizer capable of connection between the accelerating pump and the 5carburetor valve crank capable of control by the condition of vacuum inthe intake manifold beyond both the carburetor and the governor valve.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a unit capableof being substituted for the present link between the accelerating pumpof the carburetor and the throttle valve of the .same, havinga'connection with the intake manifold of the internal combustion enginewhereby the condition of vacuum in the intake manifold will control theoperation of the power jet pump during certain periods and under certainconditions.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device of thistype capable of controlling the operation'of the, power jet of thecarburetor at .idle and when a vehicle engine is under the-control of agovernor.

A further object of the present invention is to provide in connectionwith a governor, means 25 which take over the operation of the linkconnection to the carburetor valve shaft when a governor is used inassociation with a carburetor so that the accelerating pump and fuel jetare no longer directly operated from the carburetor valve shaft. Thusthe loss in mileage which would result if the governor were associatedwith the carburetor and no change made in the connections for operatingthe accelerator pump and power 'jetis eliminated.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the followingdescription, wherein reference is had to the accompanying sheet ofdrawings, upon which Fig; 1 is a fragmentary, somewhat diagrammatic,side elevational view with parts broken away in section showinggenerally the carburetor, the governor and an intake manifold of aninternal combustion ensi and i Fig. 21s a vertical cross sectionalviewof the 45 economizerzunit.

In the embodiment .of the invention which I havevchosen .to illustrate,I have shown a generally standard form of Stromberg carburetor Ccomprising a conduit member Im having they usual throttle valve I!mounted upon the valve shaft 14. This carburetor may also have the usualventuri ii and mixing tube l8. The usual air filter 29 ismounted uponthe conduit l0v above the carburetor. It will be understood that thecarburetor shown is a down-draft carburetor,

and therefore the choke valve (not shown) is located above the venturil6.

Theusual float chamber 22 is provided upon one side of the conduit I0and the main gasoline jet 24 is adapted to be supplied with fuel fromthis chamber through the tube 28. An accelerating pump 28 is adapted tobeassociated with the float chamber and is positioned in the cylinder38. The accelerating pump may generally include the piston rod 82 andpiston 34. This piston is usually in the form of a cup leather washer.This pump is supplied with fuel from the float chamber through a checkor inlet valve 36 and fuel within the cylinder is discharged through theoutlet conduit 88 and supplied to the power jet 48, which isdirectedinto the conduit 18. The

valve 36 is normally seated under the pressure rockerarm 42 is rotatablymounted upon a pivot 44 upon the side of the carburetor, and has itsother end'pivotally connected to an arm 45.- The arm 46 has its lowerend rigidly connected to an open ended cylinder 48, within which apiston 58 is reciprocally mounted. The piston 58 may havethe upper endof an arm 52 rigidly connected to the same and have its lower end 54pivotally connected to a crank 56 secured to ,one end of the throttlevalve shaft l4. The manual throttle lever may be suitably connected tothe end 58 of the crank 58.

The piston 58 is adapted to be normally held in an extended position inthe cylinder 48 by a compression spring 88 positioned betweenthe upperwall 82 of the cylinder 48 and a bottom wall 64 in the chamber. 86within the-piston 58.

A sealing gasket 88 is provided in the upper end of cylinder 48 againstthe wall 62 so that when the piston 58 is moved forward in the cylinderit may seat upon the sealing. washer and form an air tight seal. the arm52 and extending sideways and then up wardly adjacent the cylinder 48,has an inwardly turned ledge 12 which, when the piston and cylinder areseparated by the spring 60, limits the extent of separation.

I provide a short nipple member I4 screwthreadedly mounted in a tappedopening 18 in the bottom end of the piston 50. 'A flexible elastic hose18 may have its end expanded and passed over the end of the nipple 14 toform a connection between the interior of the cylinder 58 and the hose18. The hose 18 may extend downwardly and be connected to a similarnipple fastened at a desirable place in the intake manifold 80 of theautomotive engine. As has previously been stated, the present inventionis concerned with the combination of the above described carburetor anda governor. The governor G may comprise a governor conduit member 88having the usual upper and lower flanges 82 for suitable connectionbetween the lower end of the carburetor and the intake manifold. Thegovernor valve 84 is disposed within the gas passage 8 of the governorand is adapted to control the supply of combustible mixture to themotor, so as to maintain the speed of the motor constant. Any suitablemechanism may The gauge arm 18, fastened to preferably of the well knownHoof type, such as described in Patent No. 1,966,722.

If this governor were merely associated with the carburetor without theinterjection of the arms 48 and 52, without flexibility therein and ifthere would be a rigid connection between the arm 42 and the crank 58,at speeds or loads requiring the governor valve to be only partly open,there would be a loss in efliciency of the fuel .con-

sumption. However, with the arms 46 and 52 provided with a cylinder andtelescoping piston and 'a conduit 18 leading to the intake manifold 88,the following results are obtained. When the motor is'idling and the caris'at rest, the carburetor valve is substantially closed, the governorvalve is open and the accelerating pump piston 34 is substantially inits upper'position. If it is desired to start the car in motion, thecarburetor throttle valve is opened substantially and the governor valvewill remain open until the motor reaches the governed speed. During thisperiod, and as long as the vacuum in the intake manifold is notequivalent to over six inches of mercury, the unit will stay in itsextended position, which is opposite from that shown in Fig. 2

and with theend of the piston 58 separated approximately inch from thesealing gasket 88.

This distance is suflicient to allow the end of the.

piston 34 to open the valve 38 and permit passage of fuel through thepower mixture jet.

'When the vacuum in the intake manifold exceeds equivalent to six inchesof mercury,-it will overcome the spring 58 and .cause theeunit to thecarburetor valve is wide open, the control of i the opening or closingof the power jet will absolutely depend upon the vacuum condition in theintake manifold of the engine. Since this vacuum increases with thelessening of the load or an increase of the speed, and decreases with anincreased load or-a. reduction speed or both, it is also obvious thatbecause the operation of. the unit depends entirely upon; the conditionthat exists in the intake manifold, it will not interfere with thesupply of fuel throughthe power jet whenever the speed and load requirethis fuel supply operation. It is therefore be- .lieved to be obviousthat I have provided a. de-

vice, for use with carburetors and governors whereby an objectionableresult formerly obtained by theuse of governors is eliminated. .It willfurther be obvious that in the event no governor is associated with thecarburetor and the intake manifold, that the. function of the devicewill then be controlled by the carburetor valve,

While I have illustrated and described a spe''. cifi'c embodiment of my.invention, changes, and modifications may be made in the exact detailsthereof, and I do not wish to be limited in any particular; rather whatI desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United Statesis:

1. The combination with the carburetor for an internal combustionenginehaving a-conduit member, a throttle valve therein having .a crank,a main jet, a power. jet, a lever pivoted'on the carburetor to controlsaid power jet and a link of proper length'to connect said lever andcrank, a governor comprising a conduit member in alignment with thecarburetor conduit member, a controlled governor valve in the governorconduit, of a cylinder associated with said link, a piston in saidcylinder associated-with an extension of said link, said cylinderactuated in one direction by vacuum on the downstream side of thecontrolled governor valve, a spring to move the piston in the otherdirection, the piston rod for the piston forming one end of said link, arod extending from the opposite end of the cylinder forming the otherend of said link whereby change in the pressure conditions in themanifold resulting from the position of the i cylinder associated withsaid link, a piston in said cylinder associated with an extension ofsaid link, a conduit from said cylinder to the intake manifold of saidengine, said cylinder actuated in one direction by vacuum therethroughon the downstream side of the governor valve, a spring to-move thepiston in the other direction, the piston rod for'the piston forming oneend of said link, a rod extending from the opposite end of the cylinderforming the other end of said link whereby change in the pressureconditions in the manifold resulting from the location of the controlledgovernor valve will vary the lengtli of said link and thereby controlthe amount of gas flow through said power jet.

3. The combination with the carburetor for an internal combustion enginehaving a conduit member, a crank shaft therein, a throttle valve on saidshaft, a crank on said shaft, a fuel system including a pump mechanismdischarging into said conduit, means to change the richness of themixture discharged by said pump mechanism into said fuel system, saidmeans including a link connected between said crank and said pumpmechanism and means associated with said link and connected with theintake'manifold of the internal combustion engine adapted to shorten orlengthen said link in accordance with the pressure in said intakemanifold. J

4. The combination with the carburetor for an internal combustion enginehaving a conduit member, a crank shaft therein, a throttle valve on saidshaft, a crank on said shaft, a fuel system including a pump mechanismdischarging into said conduit, means to change the richness of themixture discharged by said pump mechanism into said fuel system saidmeans including a link'connected between said crank and said pumpmechanism, and means associated with said link andconnected with theintake manifold .of the internal combustion engine adapted to shorten orlengthen said link in accordance with the pressure in said intakemanifold, said last mentioned means including a pair of arms, a'

cylinder connectedto one of said arms, a movable wall in the chamber ofsaid cylinder connected to the other of said arms, a spring in saidcylin der against said movable wall and a conduit between said cylinderand theintake manifold.

5. The combination with the carburetor for an internal combustion enginehaving a conduit member, a throttle valve therein, having a shaft, acrank on the shaft, a fuel system discharging into said conduit, saidsystem including an accelerating pump and power jet, means to change theamount of liquid fuel discharged by said accelerating pump and power jetinto said fuel system, said means including a link connectedbetween'said crank and said fuel system, and means associated with saidlink and connected with the intake manifold of the internalcomcelerating pump and power jet into said fuel system, said meansincluding alink connected between said crank and said fuel system, andmeans associated with said link and connected with theintake manifold ofthe internal combustion engine adapted to shorten or lengthen said linkin accordance with the pressure in said intake manifold, said meansincluding a pair of arms, a cylinder connected to one of said arms, apiston in the chamber of said cylinder connected to the other of ,saidarms, a spring between said piston and said cylinder and a conduitbetween said chamber and the intake manifold.

"7. The combination with the carburetor for an internal combustionengine having a conduit member, a throttle valve therein, having ashaft, a crank on the shaft, a fuel system discharging into saidconduit, said system including an accelerating pump and power jet, meansto change the amount of liquid fuel discharged by said accelerating pumpand power jet into said fuel system, said means including a linkmechanismconnected' between said crank and said fold of the internalcombustion engine adapted to shorten or lengthen said link in accordancewith the pressure in said intake manifold, said mechanism including acylinder having a chamher, a piston movable therein and resilient meansfor moving the piston in one direction, vacuum from the intake manifoldadapted to move the piston in the opposite direction.

8. The combination with the carburetor for an internal combustion enginehaving a conduit member, a throttle valve therein, having a shaft, acrank on the shaft, a fuel system discharging into said conduit, meansto change the richness of the mixture discharged by said fuel system.including a pump mechanism and a link connected to the carburetorthrottle valve and to said fuel system, and means associated with saidlink and connected with the intake manifold bf the internal combustionengine adapted to shorten or lengthen said link in accordance with,

the pressure condition insaid intake manifold mechanism.

9.The combination with the carburetor for an internal combustion. enginehaving a conduit i member, a throttle valve therein having a valveshaft, a crankon the shaft, a fuel system diseluding a pump mechanism,means operating on charging into said conduit, said fuel system in!cluding a link connected between said crank and said pump mechanism, ofa governor comprising a conduit member in alignment with the carburetorconduit member, a controlled governor valve in the governor" conduit, acylinder forming part of said link, a piston in said cylinder attachedto a separate part of said link, spring means normally extending saidlink to its proper length and a connection between said cylin-'- der andthe intake manifold of the internal combustion engine whereby change inpressure conditions in the manifold may shorten or lengthen said link.

10. The combination with the carburetor for an internal combustionengine having a conduit member, a throttle valve therein having a valveshaft, a crank on the shaft, a fuel system --discharging into saidconduit, means to change the richness of the mixture discharged by saidfuel system including a pump mechanism, a link connected between saidpump mechanism and said crank, of a governor comprising a conduit'memherin alignment with the carburetor conduit member, a. controlled governorvalve in the governor conduit, a cylinder forming part of said link, apiston in said cylinder attached to. a separate part of said link,spring means normally extending said link to its proper length and aconnection between said cylinder and the intake manifold of the internalcombustion en-,.

gine whereby change" in pressure conditions in the manifold may shortenor lengthen said link without regard to the position of said carburetorvalve.

11.'The combination with the carburetor for an internal combustionengine having a conduit member, a throttle valve therein having a valveshaft, a crank on the shaft, a fuel system discharging into saidconduit, means to change the duitmember in alignment with the carburetormnduit member), a controlled governor valve in the governor conduit, acylinder forming part of .said link, a piston in said cylinder attachedto a separate part of said. link, spring means normally extending saidlink to its proper length and a connection between said cylinder and theintake manifold of the internal combustion engine whereby. change inpressure conditions in' the manifold may shorten or lengthen said link,said conditions caused by the position of said controlled governorvalve.

' 12. The combination with the carburetor for an internal combustionengine having a conduit member, a throttle valve therein having a valveshaft, a crank on the shaft, a fuel system discharging into saidconduit, means to change the richness of the mixture discharged by saidfuel system including a pump a.

link connected between said pump mechanism and said crank. of a governorcomprising a conduit member in alignment with the' carburetor conduitmember, a controlled governor valve in the governor conduit, a cylinderforming part of said link, a piston axially aligned in' said cylinderand attached to a separate part of said link, spring means normallyextending said link to its proper le h. and a connection between saidcylinder'and the intake manifold of the internal combustion enginewhereby change in pressure conditions in the manifold may shorten orlengthen said link, said connection including a conduit whereby changesin pressure conditions may shorten the link in accordance with theposition of the governor valve.

13, In a carburetor having a throttle control member, a fuel mixtureenriching device, and means operatively connecting said throttle controlmember and said fuel mixture enriching de-,

vlce'for enriching said fuel in response to movement -of said throttlecontrol, said connecting means including means adapted to be connectedwith the intake manifold of the internal combus tion engine and adaptedto vary the operative dimensions of said connecting means in accordancewith pressure'in the intake manifold.

CLAYTON B. SEYMOUR.

